Correct Answer:
B. SUM
Microsoft Excel is a powerful spreadsheet program widely used for data analysis and calculations. Functions are predefined formulas that perform specific operations. One of the most fundamental operations is summing a range of values, which is crucial for financial reports, statistical analysis, and many other data-driven tasks. Excel provides a dedicated function for this purpose, making complex calculations simple and efficient.
- The SUM function is the correct choice, as its sole purpose is to add up all the numbers in a specified range of cells. For example,
=SUM(A1:A10)calculates the total of values from A1 to A10. - COUNT is incorrect; this function counts the number of cells containing numbers, not their sum.
- AVERAGE is incorrect; this function calculates the arithmetic mean of a set of numbers, which involves summing and then dividing by the count.
- MAX is incorrect; this function returns the largest value in a range, not the sum.